The goal of the Diamonds Baseball and Softball Training 11-under baseball travel team isn't just about winning games, which the team has done with amazing frequency since the players were 8.

Peterson, the team's manager/sponsor, said the team's motto "MTB" or "More Than Baseball," includes his desire for the players do everything together from working in downtown Grand Rapids soup kitchens to playing basketball at the Courthouse in Byron Center to bowling and team sleepovers.

It's the resulting chemistry which Peterson credits for the team going an incredible 90-10, including winning three tournaments this summer, since they started playing together as 8-year-olds.

"We don't really talk wins and losses," Peterson said. "We talk about having each others’ back and being accountable to your teammates. We think it's important that the players learn to do nice things for others."

The core of the team -- Jake Heilman, Zach Fillmore, Tate Peterson, Jake Paganelli, Izzy Silgudro and Caden Ritsema -- has been together for the past four summers. A player has been added or subtracted here and there since playing 8-under. One year, the team played all summer with just 10 players.

Whatever the roster, Diamonds has put together an amazing four-year run, winning 10 of the 15 tournaments in which it has played. Diamonds lost in the Little League state finals two years ago. This year, Diamonds went 5-0 in each of three tournaments in Grand Rapids, Lansing and Battle Creek before losing 7-3 to Motor City Hit Dogs, the No. 1-ranked team in the country in the USSSA open state finals.

Diamonds will play in one more tournament this summer before some of the players begin fall ball training, while others begin playing rocket football.

With most players involved with Little League, Peterson said Diamonds will play about 40-50 games each summer, with some players getting in another dozen in the fall.

"The Little League experience is important," Peterson said. "As we play more games, the games provide valuable experience. Between Little League and playing all-stars and with practice time and travel, the kids are gaining a lot of experience."

Peterson said the time spent together in the offseason, from playing basketball to working in the soup kitchen, helps the players bond with each other.

"We've built a lot of chemistry as team," said Peterson, who thinks playing 50 games a season has left the players with experience in virtually every phase of the game -- from executing pick-off plays to learning bunt defenses.

"We've implemented all kinds of things in a lot of different situations and details of the game," Peterson said. "There are not a lot of things the players haven't encountered.”